An 18-year-old from Sussex appearing in court in Saint John in connection with two armed robberies.

Christian John Norrad entered not guilty pleas to theft while armed with an imitation firearm and wearing a mask while committing a robbery. The charges are related to an armed robbery at the A & W in Sussex in October 2013 and another at the Ultramar earlier this month.

Now that the Morgantaler lawsuit has been dropped, Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy says there's no reason why the Alward Government can't start talking about the issue.

Cardy tells CHSJ News successive provincial governments have just tried to drag this out, hoping the debate over abortion would just disappear.Cardy doesn't think the Conservatives will change their stance on publicly funding abortion and he denounces the Liberals' call for a review as "weasel words". He says he can see this becoming an election issue especially after the Morgantaler clinic in Fredericton closes in July.

The family of the late Dr. Henry Morganthaler has decided to drop the 12 year old lawsuit against the provincial government over publicly funding abortions performed at the private clinic. That word coming from the manager of the Morganthaler clinic in Fredericton, Simone Liebovitch.

The lawsuit claimed the provincial government was in violation of a 1988 ruling by the Supreme Court.

Both the Premier and Health Minister Ted Flemming have refused comment on the issue while it was still before the courts.

Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy has accused both the Alward Government and the Opposition Liberals of trying to avoid the issue and hiding behind the fact the lawsuit was still before the courts.